1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cable connector for holding a flexible printed circuit (FPC), a flexible flat cable (FFC), or other flat and flexible cables.
2. Description of the Related Art
Most conventional cable connectors for holding a flat and flexible cable include an insulating housing into which a cable is inserted, a plurality of contacts placed inside the insulating housing, a pressing member for pressing the inserted cable against the contacts, and an actuator having a cam portion for moving the pressing member (see, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-87361).
However, in such conventional cable connectors, a continuity test after insertion of the cable into a receptacle body may give a result that indicates electrical continuity between the cable and the contacts in the following cases: if the closing operation of the actuator is omitted even though the cable has been inserted into the receptacle body; if the insertion of the cable or the closing operation of the actuator is incomplete; or even in the case where the cable is connected to non-target contacts to cause unexpected electrical continuity. In such conditions, the cable may disconnect from the receptacle body upon shipment, often causing continuity failure in spite of the fact that test results have initially indicated electrical continuity. Furthermore, even when the cable is correctly inserted and the closing operation of the actuator is performed, the electrical continuity between the contacts and the cable may not be maintained if an external force is accidentally applied to the actuator during, for example, an application assembly process, shipping, or during other processes.
Moreover, if the cable is inserted into the receptacle body while an application is in an energized state, it is difficult to reliably maintain an electrically disconnected state since the cable is not securely held in place before the closing operation of the actuator is performed. If an electrically disconnected state were not to be maintained, and only part of the signal line is brought into conductive contact or a touch (instantaneous conduction) occurs, a short circuit in the application or fracture of a protection circuit, or the like, may occur in the worst case scenario, causing a malfunction.